8/12/2019 Obesity Rates Dropping

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Obesity Rates Dropping

by Christine Kim

Staff Writer

According to a study published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on February 25, obesity rates for children aged two tofive years dropped from 14% in 2003-2004 to 8% in 2011-2014. Although this 43% drop is only for a very small percentage of

the population, researchers see the statistic as a glimmer of hope in an obesity epidemic: children obese in this age group arethree to five times more likely to remain obese into their adult lives.

"We continue to see signs that, for some children in this country, the scales are tipping," the CDC Director Tom Frieden said."This confirms that at least for kids, we can turn the tide and begin to reverse the obesity epidemic." However, the lead author ofthe study, epidemiologist Cynthia Ogden also warns that, for the rest of the population, obesity rates remain mostly suspended.The numbers shifted from 17.1% to 16.9% for teenagers and 34.9% to 32.2% for adults in the same time span. For women over60, the numbers actually increased 21%.

"It's important to keep the kids active because they are our future," says Allison Sharp, a preschool teacher in The Little SchoolKids Cottage in Denver . If they (children) are learning now to be active, hopefully it will go on to when they are older." She,alongside many of her colleagues, work to keep the children in their care practicing healthy habits, such as exercising and eatingright.

No specific reasons for the drop were mentioned in the study. However, experts have given their own theories, which include

everything from the rising popularity of breastfeeding to increasingly effective health and nutrition reforms in schools . On thestudys publishing date , First Lady Michelle Obama proposed new rules to control advertisements of food and beverages inschools and celebrated the fourth anniversary of her Lets Move! program. "About one-third of our children are overweight orobese. None of us want that for our country," Obama said on that same day four years ago. "It's time to get moving."

The study itself used data from a major government survey of health and nutritional status that included over 9,000 people in2011-2012. Childhood obesity is defined by the CDC as a body mass index (BMI) rating at or above the 95 th percentile for thatage/sex group.

Earlier last year, a study related to this showed a small but significant decline in obesity rates in preschool children in low-income families for 19 out of 43 states and territories measured.